Method of finishing rolled sheets and plates.



G. A. WHITE.

METHOD OF FINISHING ROLLED SHEETS AND PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, I9I5.

Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

Q m Q m INVENTOR WITNESSES G. A. WHITE.

METHOD OF FINISHING ROLLED SHEETS AND PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-2,1915- Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

0 Q 9 w u WITNESSES INVENTOFI UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. WHITE, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF FINISHING ROLLED SHEETS AND PLATES.

Application filed November 2, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Grocer. A. WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Finishing Rolled Sheets and Plates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the manufacture of rolled metal sheets and plates, and more particularly to rolled steel sheets and plates which are of considerable width, have a comparatively greater length, and relatively are of very light gage or thickness. Heretofore. in finishing such materials it has been the practice to assemble the rolled plates in packs which are placed within closed annealing boxes. The annealing boxes and contents are then heated, this heating operation on account of the bulk of the pack of sheets or plates being slow and requiring considerable time. After being heated to the required temperature the an nealing boxes and contained packs or piles of sheets and plates are cooled, the cooling operation also being slow and requiring considerable time. The sheets or plates in the annealed packs, after being cooled, are separated and are then pickled to loosen and remove the scale adhering to the surfaces thereof, and preferably are washed in water to remove any pickling solution. The sheets or plates, depending upon the material to be made therefrom, are then galvanized or are coated with tin, lead, or an alloy of metals, or are cold rolled, in making surface finished materials.

It has been found impractical to anneal the sheets and plates uniformly in annealing in piles 01' packs within the closed boxes used heretofore, and on account of the unequal heating and likewise unequal cooling of the packs of sheets and plates annealed in this manner, as well as unequal heating and cooling of different portions of the individual sheets and plates, the amount of scale on the surfaces of the sheets and plates will vary on the different sheets and plates in a pack or box of annealed materials, as Well as on different parts of a. single sheet or plate.

Owing to the difiiculty of removing the tight scale by pickling, the materials must remain in the pickling bath for a considerable time interval and the long time re- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

Serial No. 59,212.

quired in pickling has necessitated the sheets and plates being pickled in quantities. In pickling materials annealed in this manner to remove the adhering scale, the lates frequently become over-pickled or urned in spots or places where the scale is soluble, when such plates are pickled for a sufiicient time to loosen and remove the less soluble portions of the scale. Ordinarily, the time necessary to effect the pickling operation is longer than otherwise would be necessary, owing to the insolubility of the scale.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates wherein the novel steps of the method are effected successively upon individual sheets in a rapid and continuous manner, and whereby the individual sheets are successively annealed, flattened, (which assists in the removal of scale) plckled, washed, (to remove an adhering pickle liquor) and preferably ried, preparatory to coating with another metal or to cold rolling the materials.

Another object of my invention is to provlde a novel method of annealing and pickling rolled metal sheets and plates wherein the individual sheets and plates are annealed, the hard, thick scale is removed from the surfaces thereof, and the scaled sheets orplates are then pickled to remove the thin film of oxid covering the surfaces of the scaled materials at the completion of the scale removing operations, to the end that the time required in pickling and effecting the removal of the scale is materially reduced and is lessened to an extent which enables the sheets and plates to be finished singly, a more rapid and economical manner than is possible with the existing methods.

Still further objects of my invention will become apparent in the detailed description of the method forming this invention to be made hereinafter.

Referring now to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan and Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing diagrammatically the annealing furnace, the leveler and the pickling and washing tanks used in carrying out my improved method. Fig. 3 is a plan and Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, show ing diagrammatically the galvanizing pot and piling mechanism used in carrying out my improved method in the manufacture of galvanized sheets and plates. Figs. 3 and 4 are to be joined on the line XX thereof to the line XX of Figs. 1 and 2 in showing a complete plan and side elevation of the apparatus used in carrying out the method. Fig. 5 is a plan and Fig. 6 is a side elevation, partly in section and similar to Figs. 3 and 4, showing diagrammatically the arrangement of the cold rolls and the lead annealing pot used (in place of the apparatus of Figs. 3 and 4) in the manufacture of cold rolled sheets and plates in accordance with my invention, the apparatus of Figs. 5 and 6 bein joined on the line XX thereof to the line X-X of Figs. 1 and 2 to show the complete arrangement of apparatus used in making cold rolled sheets and plates.

In the accompanying drawings, the numeral 2 designates an annealing furnace, and 3 is a leveler by which the annealed and scaled plates are flattened. On the discharge side of the leveler is a pickling tank 4, in which the bath of pickling solution is maintained, and on the exit end of this pickling tank is a washing tank 5 containing water in which the pickled plates are washed to remove any pickling solution remaining thereon.

On the discharge side of the washing tank 5 is a galvanizing pot 6, in which a bath of molten spelter is maintained, and on the discharge end of this galvanizing pot is a conveyer 7 on which the galvanized sheets or plates are allowed to cool while being transferred thereon to the piling platform 8 on which the galvanized sheets or plates are stacked or formed into piles.

When making cold rolled sheets and plates, the sheets or plates are delivered from the exit end of the washing tank 5 to the stand of cold rolls 9 instead of to the galvanizing pot 6, and are delivered from the stand of cold rolls 9 into the annealing pot 10 in which a bath of molten lead is maintained, the sheets or plates in passing through the lead bath being annealed to remove the hardness imparted thereto in cold rolling. The sheets or plates pass out of the lead annealing pot 10 into the stand of cold rolls 11 in which they are subjected to another cold rolling operation and are delivered from the rolls 11 to the platform 12 on which the cold rolled plates are stacked or formed into piles.

A conveyer 13 is employed to deliver the sheets and plates into the inlet opening 14 of the annealing furnace 2, and a conveyer 15 receives the plates from the outlet opening 16 of the furnace 2 and delivers these plates into the bite of the rolls of the leveler 3. The leveler 3 discharges the sheets and plates into the bite of the feed-out rollers 17, at the entrance end of the pickling tank 4 and guides 18 extending from the leveler to the pickling tank cause the sheets and plates to travel forwardly in the right. direction.

The sheets or plates are caused to pass through the pickling solution by means of the guides 19, 20 and 21, and the pairs of feed rollers 22, 23, the materials passing out of the pickling tank through the outlet opening 24. Feed rollers 25 and guides 26 direct the sheets and plates into the bite of the feed rollers 27 at the entrance end of the washing tank 5, and guides 28, 29, and feed rollers 30 cause the materials to pass through the washing tank 5 and out of the discharge opening 31 at the discharge end of the washing tank 5. Feed rollers 32, 33, and the guides 34 direct the materials into the guides 35 at the entrance end of the galvanizing pot 6 and the guides 35, 36, and 37, and feed rollers 38 and 39, in the galvanizing pot cause the sheets and plates to pass downwardl and then upwardly through the bath 0 molten spelter Within the galvanizing pot, to the conveyer 7. The galvanized lates are allowed to cool while being trans erred from one end to the other of the conveyor 7 and are delivered thereby to the inclined guides 40 by which they are transferred by gravity to the platform 8 on which the sheets and plates are stacked or formed into piles.

When making cold rolled sheets and plates the plates ass from the washing tank 5 to the cold r0 ls 9, the guides 34 directing the course of the sheets and plates into the bite of the stand of cold rolls 9, and the cold rolled plates, as they emerge from the cold rolls are delivered by the guides 41 to the bite of the feed rollers 42 at the inlet end of the lead annealing pot 10. The guides 43 and 44, and feed rollers 45, cause the sheets and plates to travel into and through the bath of molten lead in the pot 10 and the materials are discharged through the exit o ening 46 at the discharge end of the annea in pct 10 into the bite of the feed rollers 4 The feed rollers 47 and guides 48 direct the plates into the bite of the stand of cold rolls 11 by which another cold rolling pass is given the materials and as they emerge from between the cold rolls 11 the materials are deposited on the platform 12 on which they are stacked or formed into piles.

In the operation of my improved method the individual plates in being finished are annealed, scaled, and pickled separately and independently. A sheet or plate is placed upon the conveyer 13 and is fed into and through the annealing furnace 2 and is discharged upon the conveyer 15. While on this conveyer both surfaces of the plate are exposed to the action of the atmosphere. The heating zone of the furnace 2 is made as narrow as practicable so that but a small section or fractional part of the plate is at the maximum annealing temperature at any one time. The successively heated portions of the sheets or plates as they emerge from the outlet opening 16 into the atmosphere are rapidly cooled and the action of the atmosphere will cause the fused scale adhering to the surfaces of the sheets and plates to cool more rapidly than the metal, so that the scale will crack and loosen and will flake or peel ofl the surfaces of the plates, while bein cooled in the annealing operation. In this way the scale or substantially all of the scale on the plates at the completion of the heating 0 eration is removed and the metallic sur aces of the plates are exposed. These metallic surfaces, which are still heated to a sufiiciently high temperature, will become oxidized slightly by the action of the atmosphere and the thin film of oxid formed on the surfaces of the scale plates, being porous and of uniform thickness is easily and quickly removed when the plates are passed into and through the acid solution 'forming the pickling bath in the pickling tank 4. The plates become cooled on the conveyer 15, and are delivered into the leveler 3. The vertical axes of the top set of rolls of this leveler are staggered relative to the axes of the bottom set, so that the sheets or plates are bent into a series of reverse curves in passing through the leveler which flattens the lates and which also removes any remainmg portions of the scale formed on the lates in rollin and in heating for annealing. The leve ed plates are then caused to pass into and through the pickling bath, and during their passage through the pickle liquor the film of oxid is removed, and the plates pass from the pickling tank 4 into the washing tank 5 in which a bath of water is maintained. The water being hot imparts enough heat to the metal sheets or plates passing through the washing tank to dry the materials after they emer e from the washing tank. The washed and ried materials are then conducted by the feed rollers and guides into and through pot are discharged upon the conveyer 7. pct 6 and on emerging from the galvanizing ot are discharged upon the coneveyer 7.

he conveyer 7 carries the sheets or plates from one end to the other thereof, and discharges the sheets and plates upon the inclined supports 40 on which they slide by ravity to the platform 8 into osition within the reach of an operator. T e alvanized materials are then stacked into piles of the desired size and the piles are removed, either manually or by means of suitable power operated conveying mechanism.

In finishing galvanized plates in accordance with m method, as has been described, the single ates are caused to pass through the steps of the method in a continuous manmar from the beginning of the annealin operation to the completion of the galvanizing operation. This is a very great advantage as the plates are finished individually instead of in bulk, as heretofore has invariably been the practice. Finishing the galvanized sheets in accordance with my improved method enables a given plate, or given num ber of plates, to be uniforml annealed and rapidly finished, so that or ers can be executed more rapidly than is possible with the old bulk method of finishing the plates.

In finishing cold rolled s eets and plates the operations up to the time the plates emerge from the Washing tank 5 are the same as have been described. The washed plates upon emerging from the tank 5 pass to the first stand of cold rolls 9, instead of to the galvanizing pot 6, in making cold rolled sheets and lates. The materials after being cold rol ed in the first stand of cold rolls 9 pass into and through the bath of molten lead which anneals the sheets or plates and removes any hardness imparted thereto in the preliminary cold rolling operation. The cold rolled and annealed plates then pass into a second stand of cold rolls in which the cold rolling operation is completed and the materials pass from the second stand of cold rolls 11 to the latform 12 on which they are stacked or ormed into piles of a size suitable for handling in preparing for shipment.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. By means of my improved continuous method of finishin rolled metal sheets and plates the indivi ual sheets and plates are separately and independently subjected to the finishing steps of my method. Instead of annealing the materials in bulk, with the resulting lack of uniformity in the annealing o eration, the plates are annealed singly so tliat all parts of each sheet or plate are uniformly annealed. By annealing successive sections of the materials in the manner which has been described the sheets and plates are not only uniformly annealed but the scale adhering to the surfaces is effectively removed and the metallic surfaces of the materials are exposed to the action of the atmosphere while at a temperature which will cause the formation of a thin film of oxid of uniform thickness, which is porous and quickly removed in passing the sheets and plates through the pickling solution. Instead of pickhng the materials in bulk and instead of pickling materials hav ing a tight coating of adhering scale, the individual sheets or plates are rapidly pickled so that the oxid on the surfaces of the annealed and flattened materials is removed while the sheet or plate is passing through the pickling solution instead of maintaining the materials within the pickling solution for a considerable time interval.

Modifications in the construction and arrangement of the apparatus used in carrying out my improved method and variations in the steps of the method may be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims. The materials may be cold rolled and then coated with spelter or other metal and metal alloys. The flattening step and the ashing step may be omitted, and other changes may be made.

I claim 1. The continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates which consists in fractionally heating and cooling individual sheets and plates to anneal the material. exposing the material to the atmosphere in annealing while heated to a hanperature suflicient to crack and peel ofl the scale on the surfaces of the material, passing the cooled material through a pickling hath to complete the scale removing operation. and washing the pickled material preparatory to coating or cold rolling the pickled and washed material.

2. The continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates which consists in fractionally heating and cooling individual sheets and plates to anneal the material, exposing the material to the cooling effect of the atmosphere in annealing while heated to a temperature suflicient to crack and peel off the scale on the surface of the material, passing the cooled material through a pickling bath to complete the scale removing operation, washing the pickled material, and then galvanizing the washed material.

3. The continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates which consists in fractionally heating and cooling individual sheets and plates to anneal the material, exposing the material to the atmosphere in annealing While heated to a temperature suflicient to crack and peel ofi' the scale on the surfaces of the material, passin the scaled material through a leveler to atten the material, passing the flattened material through a pickling bath to complete the scale removing operation, and Washing the pickled material preparatory to coating or cold rolling the material.

4. The continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates which consists in fractionally heating and cooling individual sheets or plates to thereby anneal the material, exposing the successively heated fractional portions of the material to the atmosphere in the order of heating While at a temperature sufiicient to crack and peel off the scale on the surfaces of the material, passing the annealed and scaled material through a pickling bath to remove the scale or oxid on the surfaces thereof, and Washing the pickled material preparatory to galvanizing or cold rolling the washed material.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE A. WHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

pickling solution for a considerable time interval.

Modifications in the construction and arrangement of the apparatus used in carrying out my improved method and variations in the steps of the method may be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims. The materials may be cold rolled and then coated with spelter or other metal and metal alloys. The flattening step and the washing step may be omitted, and other changes may be made.

I claim v 1. The continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates which consists in fractionally heating and cooling individual sheets and plates to anneal the material, exposing the material to the atmosphere in annealingwhile heated to a temperature sufficient to crack and peel off the scale on the surfaces of the material, passing the cooled material through a pickling bath to complete the scale removing operation, and washing the pickled material preparatory to coating or cold rolling the pickled and washed material.

2. The continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates which consists in fractionally heating and cooling individual sheets and plates to anneal the material, exposing the material to the cooling effect of the atmosphere in annealing while heated to a temperature suflicient to crack and peel oif the scale on the surface of the material, passing the cooled material through a pickling bath to complete the scale removing operation, Washing the pickled material, and then galvanizing the washed material.

3. The continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates Which consists in fractionally heating and cooling individual sheets and plates to anneal the material, exposing the material to the atmosphere in annealing While heated to a temperature sufficient to crack and peel otf the scale on the surfaces of the material, passing the scaled material through a leveler to flatten the material, passing the flattened material through a pickling bath to complete the scale removing operation, and washing the pickled material preparatory to coating or cold rolling the material.

4. The continuous method of finishing rolled metal sheets and plates which consists in fractionally heating and cooling individual sheets or plates to thereby anneal the material, exposing the successively heated fractional portions of the material to the atmosphere in the order of heating while at a temperature sufficient to crack and peel off the scale on the surfaces of the material, passing the-annealed and scaled material through a pickling bath to remove the scale or oXid on the surfaces thereof, and Washing the pickled material preparatory to galvanizing or cold rolling the Washed material.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. I

GEORGE A. WHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

[SEAL] It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,167,864, granted January 11, 1916, upon the application of George A. White, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for

an improvement in Methods of Finishing Rolled Sheets and Plates, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, strike out line 49 and insert the words the bath of molten spelter in the galvanizing; and

that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflicei Signed and sealed this 8th. day of February, A. D., 1916.

R. F. WHITEHEAD,

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,167,864, granted January 11,

1916, upon the application of George A. White, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for

an improvement in Methods of Finishing Rolled Sheets and Plates, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, strike out line 49 and insert the words the bath of molten spelter in the galvanizing; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 8th day of February, A. D., 1916.

R. F. W'HITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

[SEAL] 

